The City TrilogyIt’s an American city with no name; it could be the 1930s, but it’s not quite the world as we know it. Like a complex dystopia rewritten by James Ellroy without his staccato trademark style, a teeming universe full of corruption—crooked and racist cops, minor league actresses and jazz singers with a hole for a heart, politicians with differing agendas, political agitators, factory workers and millionaires, disillusioned characters striving for survival—unfolds over three volumes which distill the spirit of noir with unflinching violence and thrills. Ball combines ambition with a talent for the sweep of history and the struggle of individuals with aplomb. A significant achievement that appears to have been criminally overlooked by the majority of reviewers. - The Strand Magazine